Since uric acid is a breakdown product of purines, a very common reason for high levels of uric acid is consuming lots of purines.

由于尿酸是嘌呤的分解产物，故高尿酸是大量摄入嘌呤的结果。

Finally, there are some rare stones made of xanthine, which, just like uric acid, is a byproduct of purine breakdown.

最后，还有由黄嘌呤形成的罕见结石，同尿酸一样，是嘌呤分解的副产物。

To understand where the uric acid comes from, let's start with purines, which, together with pyrimidines, are nature's most common nitrogen-containing heterocycles.

为了说明尿酸从何而来，让我们先来了解嘌呤和嘧啶，它们都是自然界中最常见的含氮杂环。

Xanthine oxidase is an enzyme involved in the breakdown of purines to uric acid, so inhibiting this enzyme results in less uric acid production.

黄嘌呤氧化酶负责分解嘌呤为尿酸，所以抑制这个酶，就可以减少尿酸的生成。

These crystals can form as a result of increased consumption of purines, like from consuming purine-rich foods like shellfish, anchovies, red meat or organ meat.

这种结晶的成因有嘌呤摄入过多，如摄入富含嘌呤的食物，像是贝壳、沙丁鱼、红肉或动物内脏。

Also, though, they can result from increased production of purines, for example high-fructose corn syrup containing beverages could contribute to the formation of uric acid by increasing purine synthesis.

但同时，这也可能是由于嘌呤生成过多，如高果糖饮食、玉米糖浆饮料会促进嘌呤合成，从而生成尿酸。